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Let me just start this post by saying how inaccurately the distance markers are placed.
I ran my first 1km at 4:21, my second 1km at 4:55, and I clocked my fourth 1km at 3:20+.

I was feeling inadequately prepared for this race, having just recovered from a 38.5 degree fever the day before. I didn’t wanna miss this chance to run a well-marketed race by Nike so I decided to just go ahead and try my best.

I was having the runs (literally) and I vomited a little even while brushing my teeth in the morning. It was the kind of race that I felt only 60% of my body was ready.

Weeks before, I told myself to aim for a 46-minute finish for this race.
This morning, looking at my condition, I would be extremely satisfied if I could even come in under 50 minutes.

Ryan decided to run this race with me. For some reason, he thought “something” would happen to me and didn’t want to risk it. To be frank, a lot of friends I met this morning did remark that I looked pale.

So anyway, Ryan could have gone for a 37-38 minute 10km finish on his own, but he decided to run together with me and he was encouraging me all the way. I hit the the 5km marker and felt that these should be enough for today, but he kept urging me not to stop. Dan overtook me from the back and also told me not to give up.

I slowed down my pace but was still running slightly faster than 5min/km, was too tired to track my progress and I completely gave up clocking my laps on my watch. I just wanted to finish the race as soon as possible.

The last 2km was a climb up the bridge towards Marina Bay Sands. It was probably the worst part of the entire race. My legs were turning jelly, and my forehead was feeling warm. I lifted up my legs with each stride and Ryan was in front, cheering me on and telling me that we are almost there.

Both of us finished the last 200m with very strong strides. The clock read 48 something.

I met up with 2 very special people for dinner today. It was an extremely blessed session for me because they paid for my meal, but more than just that, I managed to receive certain revelations through our casual conversations.

One thing that really struck me and made me pause for a while was this:

Me: “… Yeah, that’s her only boyfriend. They have been together for many years. All my relationships lasted less than a year.”
P: “God is saving you from heartbreaks.”
Me: “Huh?”
P: “If you are in a wrong relationship, it won’t work out and you’ll have to break up eventually. All your relationships ended within a year, because it is easier for you to handle. If God had permitted for you to be in the wrong relationship for too long, let’s say 5 years, you can’t handle it when you break up.”

(Of course these weren’t the exact words, but the gist is there.)

Wow? I haven’t been giving much thought about relationships, but this struck me. I am sure God has other plans: He has someone else in mind or He simply doesn’t want me to get too distracted/committed for the time being.

I’ve always had this thing about birthdays. I don’t like being the centre of attention. What am I supposed to do when I’m in the front with everyone singing a birthday song for me?

My family members aren’t very generous with their attention spans. Conversations are kept as short as possible. However, that didn’t make me a shy person. I may have been shy growing up, but I’ve learnt to be more vocal. I am comfortable speaking in front of large crowds. I remembered once I was appointed to represent my secondary school in a large auditorium with many other secondary schools present. It was some form of a dialogue where each school had to send out a representative to give out a short presentation. I have no idea why I was chosen, but nonetheless it all went well, at least in my own opinion. I didn’t stutter and that was my first attempt at public speaking.

In church, we often have large zone meetings. I was comfortable standing in the front and playing the guitar for various sessions. During mission trips, I had no trouble conducting briefings and debriefings to large groups of people, many of which older than me.

In University, presentations were a weekly affair. I may get a little nervous if I have little or no understanding on what I am presenting about, but otherwise I will not hesitate to present in front of the whole lecture hall. Sometimes I get so comfortable I just move around freely and engage the class in my own ways.

However, for birthdays, it’s just different. The attention that I receive, with all the pairs of eyes looking at me, makes me uneasy.

I think I might be introverted, because I process a lot more thoughts than the words that come out of my mouth, yet I also think that I might be a bit of an extrovert because I have been known to be really talkative to the extent it gets annoying.

Or maybe I am a well-balance of both? I am, afterall, libra. My sign is a pair of scales.